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Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.

The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.

Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.

Ownership Breakdown

Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.

An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."

Financial Increase

This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.

This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.

This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.

The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.

Present Standings

The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.

Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.

Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.